By Stephen Smoot
On the heels of one of the most successful incarnations of Trout Fest yet, a jubilant Pendleton County Chamber of Commerce board held its May monthly meeting.
Elizabeth Scott, executive director, shared that “Trout Fest was a financial success. I’ve already got my wheels turning for next year.” She added that “there were a lot of in-kind sponsorships,” then gave examples such as a brochure provided in exchange for a sponsorship. Also, Greer donated funds to pay for the fish.
She also discussed a potential added sponsor for next year. An attendee who also works for the Bass Pro Shops corporate office suggested that the chamber reach out to that company. In Scott’s discussions with the representative, she learned that the company issues community support grants. One of the restrictions, however, was that the money could not be used to fund contest prizes. Efforts to include children and veterans, however, are strongly encouraged.
Scott addressed some confusion expressed in the community over unpaid prizes. She explained that the grand prize money was not given to Trout Fest, but that the donor would only pay the prize if someone caught the winning tag. Since that did not happen, the donor kept the money.
Due to the confusion, Scott said that they would look at different ideas. “We want to give out the money,” she said, “that’s one of the draws. Marshals reported that 22 of 156 total fish caught had winner tags affixed to them.
Scott reported concerns shared by Franklin town councilman Bruce Minor. Minor had advised in the May town council meeting that foot traffic up and down the road, especially children, mixed too much with automobiles traversing the area. He suggested that construction cones and other safety measures be considered to prevent possible accidents.
Another Trout Fest related success story came in the pageants. “Everyone thought our pageant was run well,” Scott reported. She also expressed pride in the winner, Jenna Biggs, saying that “our queen has been active as well, going around the community promoting Trout Fest.”
Discussion turned to the Trout Fest dinner on Friday night. “We purchased most of the food locally,” she said. The chamber also saved money by purchasing decorations with a generic theme that can be reused at other events, such as the chamber dinner in November. The board also discussed some attendees’ desire to have fried fish, but the problem with that lies in the fact that frying fish involves more labor. Currently, they do not have enough volunteers to handle the extra work involved in frying the trout. Board member Brooke Alt, who also took on a great deal of work helping to organize and run the festival, said, “People in the community said the fish tasted really good.”
Kristin Dingess, president of the chamber of commerce board of directors, said to Scott, “Thank you for everything. Thank you for walking 17 miles and never sitting down. People came because of your hard work.”
After the Trout Fest update and discussion, the board turned to the important work of bringing on Laura Hageman from Swilled Dog as a new member. The operations manager of the Upper Tract distillery said “I love Elizabeth’s vision for the community. It’s an amazing community and I want to help.”
Scott told Hageman, “It’s really good to have you. I know you have a lot of energy too.”
Looking ahead, Scott opened discussion about future events through the year. She exclaimed, “We packed the house last year,” but wanted to see even more attendance. The chamber dinner in 2022 filled almost every seat at Swilled Dog, but Scott suggested opening the building’s large garage door, erecting a party tent, and bringing in heaters for the pre-Thanksgiving event.
